Star turn: Issa Rae offers inspiration and insight to students
ARTS
When she was in middle school, Christian Herald read Issa Rae’s memoir, named after her web series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Herald has followed her career ever since.
“She has been such a pioneer of Black representation in modern media,” said Herald, a junior leadership studies major. “I read her book, and it was life changing for me.”
Herald was among a group of students who spent one-on-one time with Rae before her recent fireside chat in Camp Concert Hall. The actress, writer, and director shared tips with students on making the arts a career in the Q&A session led by theatre professor Chuck Mike.
@urichmond “Insecure” and “Awkward Black Girl” — and award-winning actress, writer and producer — Issa Rae came to campus as part of our #BlackHistoryMonth celebrations to give us the empowering pep talk we all needed to hear. ❤️💙 Many thanks to the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion, University of Richmond Center for Student Involvement, and Modlin Center for the Arts for making this event possible, and ‘97 alum GeNienne Samuels for moderating a great conversation! #urichmond #issarae
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Rae first came into fame with her web series, followed by her hit HBO series Insecure. She heads the media company Hoorae, and in 2021 signed a $40 million deal for her projects with Warner Brothers, which owns HBO. This year, she appeared in three Oscar-nominated movies: Barbie, American Fiction, and Spider Man: Across the Spiderverse. And she recently landed on the cover of Time. But, as she told the students, she wasn’t always secure about her chosen profession.
“My dad is Senegalese, West African, and I had the pressure of … him,” she said to laughter. “He’s the oldest family member who emigrated to the States. You didn’t have a choice to pursue frivolous things like the arts.”
She attended a medical magnet high school, with plans to become a doctor like her father. A visit to the ER made her realize it was not her calling. “He’s like, `No problem. Go to law school.”
At Stanford, she pursued political science but took theater classes on the side. One of her African American studies and drama professors made her feel like it was possible to pursue a career in the arts. Finally, she stood up to her father and told him she didn’t want to be a lawyer either.
“My passion doesn’t look like this, it doesn’t feel like this is the direction,” she said.
After graduating from college with a degree in African & African American studies and a minor in political science, she moved to New York and held three jobs. Aspiring to make more diverse projects, she started a short film collective. Along the way, she learned how to direct, produce, film, and light scenes.
Rae said she was terrified about casting herself as the lead, J, in The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, which debuted on YouTube in February 2011. When a friend couldn’t help her, she took on the role herself.
“And ultimately, I just felt like it was within me, and it wasn’t going to get done if I wasn’t doing it,” she said.
Despite her success, she still gives herself pep talks, like her character, J.
“It’s been an ongoing journey of trying to get myself up and recognize that I’m here for a reason,” Rae said. “That’s just something you have to keep telling yourself, honestly. There’s no one else that can tell stories the way that you do, or that has something to offer the way that you do.”